Thoughts from the interface of science, religion, law and culture

After spending several years touring the country as a stand up comedian, Ed Brayton tired of explaining his jokes to small groups of dazed illiterates and turned to writing as the most common outlet for the voices in his head. He has appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show and the Thom Hartmann Show, and is almost certain that he is the only person ever to make fun of Chuck Norris on C-SPAN.

EVENTS

Russia Arresting Protesters for Not Carrying Signs

Let’s check in with how Bryan Fischer’s Lion of Christianity is doing in creating what Scott Lively calls a “model pro-family society” is doing on that freedom thing. Turns out, not so well. They’re now arresting people for not holding up protest signs.

Six activists have been detained near the Kremlin in Moscow for holding “invisible posters” and calling for the release of other protesters detained earlier, it appears.

The group was detained on Sunday in Manezhnaya Square and were holding out their hands as if they were carrying invisible signs, the Grani.ru news website reports.

“Our invisible posters read: Free the 6 May prisoners!” one protester says in a video. “Because a man was detained earlier holding a poster you could see, we are now holding invisible posters.” But the woman is taken away by police and she can be heard saying “You are breaking the law!” as she is dragged away.

They were protesting the arrests of more than 600 people who were protesting against Putin in 2012. But don’t worry, Putin talks to Jesus directly and he hates gay people, so it’s all okay.

It takes a helluva lot of guts to go out and defy a regime which you know for certain has already put hundreds of your friends in non-Amnesty International-standard cells for almost two years and counting.